WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018
Walmart offers college
tuition help to workers
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
One of Umatilla Coun-
ty’s biggest employers is
offering college tuition
at only $1 per day for its
employees.
Walmart
recently
announced the incentive,
available to all employees
who have worked for the
company at least 90 days,
whether part-time or full-
time. Associates who work
toward a bachelor’s or asso-
ciate degree in business or
supply chain management
will pay the equivalent of
$1 per day at select univer-
sities, all of which offer the
opportunity to complete the
degree online while con-
tinuing to work.
“For all those parents
with seniors just graduat-
ing, wondering how they’re
going to support them:
They can support them-
selves,” said Josh Burns,
manager of the Wal-Mart
Distribution Center in
Hermiston.
He said they had
announced the program at
meetings for more than half
the shifts at the DC already
and it had been greeted
with enthusiasm by associ-
ates who had been thinking
about pursuing a college
degree. Burns said a degree
in business or supply chain
management would offer
new opportunities for pro-
motion throughout the
company.
“It’s insane how many
opportunities there are,” he
said.
For
any
interested
employees, Walmart will
pay all costs above finan-
cial aid and the $1 per day
contribution from students
— including reimbursment
for textbooks and other
required course supplies.
Students must be enrolled
in University of Florida,
Brandman University (Cal-
ifornia) or Bellevue Uni-
versity (Nebraska) but all
three universities offer
the option to complete the
degree online. Associates
who leave the company
mid-degree will no lon-
ger have their education
subsidized but will not be
required to pay back what
they already completed.
The Hermiston Walmart
Distribution
Center
employs about 1,100 peo-
ple, and hundreds more
work for the Hermiston and
Pendleton stores. Burns
said they will be able to
continue to live in Uma-
tilla County while further-
ing their education online.
“I’m extremely excited
about it,” he said. “In 12
years with the company
I’ve never seen them doing
something so awesome.”
Port of Morrow extends application
deadline for manager position
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
The Port of Morrow
commissioners
decided
on Friday to extend the
deadline for those want-
ing to apply for the port’s
top position, and that there
will be some updates to the
application.
As longtime port man-
ager Gary Neal sets to
retire at the end of the
year, the commission has
been searching for some-
one to step into the role.
Now, they have decided
to extend their applica-
tion period until the end
of June, in the hopes that
a more specific appli-
cation will attract more
candidates.
So far, commissioners
said, seven people have
applied for the job.
At a special meeting
Friday morning, commis-
sioners noted that they
had not yet reviewed the
seven applications they’ve
received, and that those
people would still all be
considered. The purpose
of extending the deadline,
said commissioner Rick
Stokoe, was to make sure
they’d made it available to
the best candidate.
“We feel it’s important
to do our due diligence,
and try to find the best
applicant for the port, and
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
BUSINESS
HH FILE PHOTO
Port of Morrow manager Gary Neal will retire at the end of
the year.
the employees of the port,”
said Stokoe. “This position
is extremely vital, not only
to Morrow County but to
the region.”
Commissioners
said
thus far, the advertisement
for the position had only
been posted regionally,
including in local news-
papers, as well as some
port organizations in Ore-
gon and Washington. The
recruitment process, which
has been facilitated by the
Special Districts Associ-
ation of Oregon (SDAO),
started May 1.
Stokoe said initially
they hoped to have SDAO
narrow the applicant pool
down to 25, and then the
commissioners would nar-
row it down to five.
Commissioner Joe Tay-
lor said they plan to expand
the search nationwide.
Stokoe said the ini-
tial application did not
list a salary range, but the
updated one will state that
the director’s salary will
be between $175,000 and
$250,000 annually.
He said the application
will also clarify a piece
about a “residency require-
ment.” The initial appli-
cation stated that the per-
son hired would have to
live in the port district,
which spans all of Morrow
County. The updated appli-
cation will still require the
new port director to live in
the district, but will spec-
ify that the commission
will allow a period of time
for the person to relocate.
The commission hopes
to have a new manager in
place by Oct. 1.
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New director turns SBDC around
By ANTONIO SIERRA
STAFF WRITER
Upon her return to the
Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College Small Busi-
ness Development Center
in late 2015, Carol Frink
knew she had an overhaul
on her hands.
One of 19 such offices
across Oregon, BMCC’s
center had fallen to dead
last in the various metrics
the organization uses to
measure success, including
its number of clients, the
number of new businesses
started under its guidance,
and the number of jobs
created.
In the two years since,
Frink has overseen a dra-
matic turnaround that cul-
minated in two awards —
2018 Oregon SBDC Award
for Excellence & Innova-
tion from the U.S. Small
Business Administration
and the Small Business
Development Center Excel-
lence Award for the Pacific
Northwest region, which
covers Oregon, Washing-
ton, Idaho and Alaska.
Whether it’s developing
a concept, branding, financ-
ing, or human resources,
the SBDC uses a team of
five business advisers to
provide free help to small
business owners and pro-
spective entrepreneurs.
A 40-year Hermiston
resident, Frink didn’t start
her career as a turnaround
artist.
Frink was a banker for
more than 12 years, work-
ing at the same local branch
as it underwent a number
of acquisitions, going from
Western Heritage Savings
and Loan to Benj. Franklin
Savings and Loan to Bank
of America.
Faced with approving
small business loans, Frink
said she became well-ac-
quainted with aspiring
merchants.
Applicants were sel-
dom short on dreams or
ideas, but definitive busi-
ness plans weren’t always
part of the equation. Frink’s
first priority was to make
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Carol Frink is the Small Business Development Center
director at BMCC and her department was just recognized
with the 2018 Oregon SBDC Award for Excellence &
Innovation from the United States Small Business
Administration.
sure the bank was mak-
ing a good investment and
not offering sound business
advice, so she often sent
applicants to the SBDC to
refine their proposal.
She got to experience
the other side of the coin
when she was hired as an
SBDC business adviser in
2002.
Not only did she help
prospective business own-
ers secure financing, but
she helped them develop
business plans and make
sense of the numbers.
Frink said the SBDC
business advisers offer a
degree of separation, offer-
ing objective advice and
preparing them for the chal-
lenges that will come.
“If you run a marathon,
you don’t just show up on
the day of the race,” she
said.
Frink had done private
business consulting work
in the past, and she left the
SBDC to start a new con-
sulting business in 2012.
When BMCC recruited
her to return to the SBDC
as the director, it was not in
good condition.
The turnaround
Ironically, Frink felt that
the SBDC was operating
without a plan and direc-
tion, and it was reflected by
BMCC’s center being the
lowest contributing mem-
ber organization in the
state.
Frink replaced many of
the SBDC employees with
a fresh set of advisers and
they set about drumming up
business.
From 2016 to 2017, the
center’s clients increased
from 213 to 265 and its cap-
ital infusion — the amount
in loans and equity invest-
ments its clients made —
grew from $439,119 to $1
million.
They number of new
jobs created and new jobs
were basically flat (15 to 16
and 33 to 31, respectively),
but Frink said one of the
most important statistics
was the SBDC’s return on
investment.
For every state dollar
spent, the Oregon SBDC
Network created $2.49 in
state revenue while every
federal dollar produced
$2.56 in federal revenue.
Also
important:
SBDC-assisted businesses
last longer.
Frink said that only 18
percent of business in Ore-
gon last longer than 18
months. With the help of
the SBDC, the percentage
jumps to 85 percent.
Cumulatively, Frink said
it is now the third best per-
forming center in the state
after the SBDCs in Portland
and Lane County.
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